Dorothy Shirley British High Jumper 1960

Dorothy Ada Emerson (née Shirley) (born 15 May 1939 in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

) is a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

athlete, who mainly competed in the women's

high jump The high jump is a track and field event in which competitors must jump unaided over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without dislodging it. In its modern, most-practiced format, a bar is placed between two standards with a crash mat f ...

event.

Athletics career

She competed for Great Britain in the

1960 Summer Olympics The 1960 Summer Olympics ( it, Giochi Olimpici estivi del 1960), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad ( it, Giochi della XVII Olimpiade) and commonly known as Rome 1960 ( it, Roma 1960), were an international multi-sport event held ...

held in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, where she won the silver medal in the high jump jointly with

Jarosława Jóźwiakowska Jarosława Jóźwiakowska, later Jarosława Bieda (born January 20, 1937, in Poznań) is a Polish athlete who mainly competed in the high jump. She competed for Poland at the 1960 Summer Olympics held in Rome, Italy in the high jump where ...

. It was the fifth straight silver medal for Britain in this event. She represented

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in the high jump at the

1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games The 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games (Welsh: Gemau Ymerodraeth Prydain a'r Gymanwlad 1958) were held in Cardiff, Wales, from 18–26 July 1958. Thirty-five nations sent a total of 1,130 athletes and 228 officials to the Cardiff Games ...

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

, Wales. Four years later she competed in the high jump again at the

1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games The 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games were held in Perth, Australia, from 22 November to 1 December 1962. Athletic events were held at Perry Lakes Stadium in the suburb of Floreat and swimming events at Beatty Park in North Perth. The ...

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

, Western Australia and then won a

silver medal A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc ...

at the

1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games The 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games were held in Kingston, Jamaica, from 4 to 13 August 1966. This was the first time that the Games had been held outside the so-called White Dominions. They were followed by the 1966 Commonwealth P ...

Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley Inter ...

. A fourth consecutive Games appearance came in 1970 during the

1970 British Commonwealth Games The 1970 British Commonwealth Games (Scottish Gaelic: Geamannan a 'Cho-fhlaitheis Bhreatainn 1970) were held in Edinburgh, Scotland, from 16 to 25 July 1970. This was the first time the name British Commonwealth Games was adopted, the first tim ...

in Edinburgh.

Personal life

Shirley became a teacher and worked as a PE teacher at

Bentham Grammar School Bentham Grammar School was an independent school in Bentham, North Yorkshire, England. The school was founded in 1726 but closed in 2002 due to dwindling pupil numbers. History Bentham Grammar School was founded as a charity in 1726 in the vil ...

in the West Riding of Yorkshire in the early 1970s. Later, she taught as a Primary School Teacher at St. Michael's Primary School in Alkrington, Middleton.

References

External links

* 1939 births Living people Athletes from Manchester British female high jumpers English female high jumpers Olympic athletes for Great Britain Olympic silver medallists for Great Britain Athletes (track and field) at the 1960 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1968 Summer Olympics European Athletics Championships medalists Athletes (track and field) at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games silver medallists for England Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics Medalists at the 1960 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field) Medallists at the 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games {{England-athletics-bio-stub